The Paper People Movement

Open Letter to Black Folk

Your apathy has finally done it.  Yes, you may have been correct in your assumptions that the National Democratic Party has been for decades taking your vote for granted.  Yet, you still voted for their proposed candidates anyway, with little in return.  You came out in record numbers to vote for Obama and elected the first Black President twice.  But you let him down, as well as diminished his legacy when you failed to turn out this past election.  Now everything Obama fought hard for (pretty much without any Congressional support) is likely to be reversed by Trump and his supporting conservative Congress.

Some will say that Obama didn’t do jack for them during his two term presidency and that is in part why you were so dissuaded and/or unenthused this election cycle.  That you didn’t want to fall for the Ol’ Okey-doke again – – – especially with a seasoned, canned professional candidate like Hillary Clinton.  I understand and hear you – but you don’t bite off your nose to spite your face.  Look at what you got in return for staying home – Trump/Pence and the Billionaire’s Cabinet.

The Trump administration, just based on what we know right now, does not favor most of your national economic and social policies and will likely work aggressively to ignore your core value and belief systems.  Trump has promised to enforce law and order (which means condonation of aggressive police tactics and enforcement in our communities); reverse and/or replace Obamacare (compelling you back into the emergency room for routine medical care); slash welfare and other important social programs; create more deficient charter schools that will continue to deprive our children of a quality education; preclude working wage increases; Gerrymandering, voter suppression and election interference will continue unabated; reverse anti-discrimination laws in employment; further push Unions to the brink of extinction; reverse Roe vs. Wade, making it even more difficult for women to obtain an abortion under any circumstance (including rape or incest); and with the appointment of ultra-conservative judges in state, federal and the Supreme Court – the aforementioned policy agenda will basically be etched in stone for decades to come.

In response, the Democratic Party – having no other choice or the ability to remotely think out-of-the-box – will essentially attempt to become more Trump-like and court the vote of “mainstream middle-America” – like Trump did.  The Democrats will start to claim that they – like Trump – no longer want to engage in “identity politics” and in the process, ignore you because your voter electorate is inconsistent, unreliable and limited to issues primarily involving ultra-liberal social issues that are not “mainstream”.  The Democrats will claim that they are left with no other choice and must push you to the way-side in order to survive in this two-party political system.  This will be the Democrats’ version of “making America great . . . again.”

The Democratic Party, unable to rely upon your voter turnout – essentially has no other choice but to move on from your “dedicated voting block” and in doing so, won’t even attempt or act like they give a damn – like Trump did and like most Republicans do.  Yet, while we can stand outside in sub-zero weather waiting in a line that spans around the block, just to obtain the latest pair of Jordan sneakers (e.g., $250-$600 per pair)  – should we not pause to consider our future as a minority group in America  and the advances made by our predecessors to date?  How can we be blinded from the obvious that a government lead Trump/Pence administration will be determined to erase the many decades of painstaking advancements so many have fought and died for?

The current cabinet selected by Trump, Pence and Brietbart – stands for everything that is against your interests.  You knew and/or should have known this prior to November 8th – but many of you stayed home and didn’t vote – – – as if your life did not depend on it.  The right to vote – which costs you absolutely nothing, was taken for granted – – – by you.  Not by any Russian or Klansman – but by you.  Unless and until we face the truth and look ourselves in the mirror, we have no one to blame but ourselves.  What would Frederick Douglas, Harriet Tubman, Dr. King, Rosa Parks, Thurgood Marshall or Malcolm X say with respect to our current disposition?  What would they say about the gains they made for us; the gains that we let get stripped away by our impassivity?

Those acclaimed civil rights activists/icons would likely say the same thing that President Obama said just prior to the national election:  “I will consider it a personal insult to my legacy if you don’t vote”.  While true, we are not a monolithic voting block, we can no longer seek solace in the argument and/or claim that we are the “minority” and thus, deserving of special and/or affirmative action in our society – while at the same time refusing to use our “power” at the ballot box; refusing to use our collective finances to service our own community (e.g., A dollar circulates in the Black  community only (6) hours; Asians keep a dollar in their community 120 times longer); and refusing to prioritize education and embrace the technological future that calls for mathematics and automation (e.g., “Math is too hard”).  We must – like the new Democratic Party must – redefine and strategically position ourselves for the sake of our children and our survival in America.

The Conservative, Tea-Party and/or Alt-Right movements are emboldened now more than ever to push through local, state and federal legislatures, harshly partisan social reforms – laws that they would have likely been too embarrassed to embrace just prior to Trump’s successful Presidential run.  But now, with the advent of social media electronic courage, they are no longer fearful of being deemed racist for their otherwise nationalistic points of view.

The late former U.S. Third Circuit Court Appeals Judge Leon Higginbotham, once said that WE (Black folk) are merely “Paper People”, in that if “they” were to take away the 13th Amendment (abolishment of slavery), the 15th Amendment (right for Black men to vote), the 19th Amendment (women’s right to vote), the 24th Amendment (abolishment of the poll tax) and the Civil Rights Acts legislation (which can be revisited/renewed by the Congress or Supreme Court because according to some people – discrimination is over and such laws are no longer necessary) – WE will effectively have no voice in America.

It is no longer laughable to just say that this could never, ever happen in America.  Many Brits said the same thing about Brexit; and many Americans said the same thing about Trump being elected as President.  Brexit and President Trump were deemed – “impossible” by the vast majority of people.  However, when reality slaps us right upside our heads, we must realize that the impossible has real life consequences.  What are WE going to do about it is the question.

Ronnie E. Cromer, Jr., Esq.,

The Paper People Movement

www.thepaperpeoplemovement.com